Bengaluru police leave no rules out to make sure you’re safe this NYE

Highlights

Pubs are working hard so that you can party harder for 2019

Arranging female bouncers, cab services to extra CCTV cameras, pub owners are breaking into a sweat to give you a good time.

The countdown to New Year’s Eve has begun. And with that, the biggest parties of the year are upon us. But to make sure that you don’t just party hard but safe too, city restaurants, pubs and bars are pulling out all the stops.

As BM had reported on December 19, Bengaluru City Police have drawn up a checklist of safety measures to be followed by establishments that are organising parties for New Year’s Eve. Under which, they are required to wind up the party by 1am, hire female security guards and bouncers, install CCTV cameras facing the streets, arrange cabs to transport those who are too drunk to organise a ride back home or even make provisions for them to stay the night. These bars and restaurants will be inspected till December 24 and only then get a nod to host the party.

‘Where are the female bouncers?’

While the restaurant and pubs have welcomed the diktat, they feel it came in quite late. Pravesh Pandey, director-partner Byg Brewski Brewing Company, which has a microbrewery in Sarjapur and Hennur, said, “We start planning for NYE parties three months in advance, so last minute-instructions do put us in a tight spot.” He is referring to the deployment of lady bouncers. “We haven’t found one yet. There’s a big scarcity of lady bouncers. But it is an important requirement because male bouncers can’t access ladies restrooms,” he admits. Vamsi Reddy, director and cofounder of Three Dots & A Dash, which has outlets in Indiranagar and JP Nagar, is clueless too. “We checked with the agency where we have hired our security guards. They said they don’t even have female bouncers.”
Shivu C, who runs Tanusha Bouncers agency, told BM that he’s already got quite a few calls to lend female bouncers for the NYE parties in Bengaluru. “But we don’t have female bouncers. At the most, we can train our female security guards as a bouncer for a period of two-three days.” Which is what The Reservoire, Koramangala, has opted for. Prathik Shetty, its cofounder and partner, says, “The wife of one of our male bouncers works as a security guard and we’ll train her to play the part of a bouncer for five days.”

If you’re drawing up a plan for your New Year’s eve party, the Bengaluru City Police has some ideas too.

At Byg Brewski, 20 per cent of its staff is female and they have been trained to identify the inebriated ones in the crowd. “If they get verbally abusive, that’s a sign,” Pandey gives an example. Restaurateur Manu Chandra, who is the city head of National Restaurant Association of India, says that he has received concerns about the lack of lady bouncers from fellow F&B professionals. So he is working on an alternative. “We are trying to train our senior female employees to attend to our female clients (beyond their duty), such as taking them to the washroom if necessary.” But if the cops don’t relax the rule, Chandra says “he will engage with the local DCPs”.

‘Cab drops for all not possible’

Not as bothersome but still tricky is the instruction to drop the revellers back to their destinations. Reddy says, “We will have 600-800 people coming in that night, it’s not possible to arrange cabs for them. Now imagine all the pubs and bars along 100ft Road, Indiranagar doing that, it’s not possible. Instead, the police should put out banners asking people to pre-book cabs or carpool.” Shetty agrees. Still, he’s sent a letter each to Ola and Uber for tie-ups, and has meanwhile instructed his security and valet staff to note down details of the cab rides that leave from the party.

Others have it a little under their control. Pandey informs, “We have tied up with two cab services and so we will have 35-40 cabs to hire at the venue. Plus, we will have two ambulances too.”

So does Kishore Pallamreddy, MD and owner of Red Rhino, a craft brewery and kitchen along Whitefield-Hoskote Road, “Last year, we had arranged drop facilities within the radius of 10km, and we will do that this year too. It’s part of our NYE party package (`3,500 and above). It’s not practical for us to arrange for cab facilities beyond 10km but if there is a prior request, we can try. Alternately, we direct our clients to put up at hotels nearby.” In fact, Red Rhino had hired two female bouncers even before the notice came through, Pallamreddy proudly claims.

Some like Reddy are also upping their CCTV security. “Since we have been asked to install CCTV cameras facing the streets, we are adding three of them outside. As far as the restaurant goes, there are no blind spots inside.” Then Red Rhino has been asked by the police to light up their smoking area better, and barricade the railings on the terrace to avoid falls.

‘Can we party till 3am?’

Things like hiring more bouncers, installing CCTVs, providing private and radio cabs when the clients get drunk, ensuring traffic and parking discipline outside, and ensuring safety are part of the basic protocol because footfalls during NYE parties are more than usual, says Chandra. “So most of the police instructions are in good spirit… What happened in the past (the 2017 molestation incident) happened on the road, amid large gatherings, which was not under our purview. We are happy to take all the responsibility for the safety of our clients inside the restaurants, but outside, it’s not our job. It’s the job of police.”

But he has a question for the city police too. “In Mumbai and Delhi, people will be partying on the New Year’s till 5am. Why can’t Bengalureans be allowed to party till 3am? It’s awkward that when people ring in the New Year’s at 12, we hand over bills to them and expect them to leave. We are planning to discuss this with police.”

Recent Messages ()

Please rate before posting your Review

OR PROCEED WITHOUT REGISTRATION

Share on Twitter

SIGN IN WITH

Refrain from posting comments that are obscene, defamatory or inflammatory, and do not indulge in personal attacks, name calling or inciting hatred against any community. Help us delete comments that do not follow these guidelines by marking them offensive. Let's work together to keep the conversation civil.